Grisly sight if I ever saw one...AHLF wrote:(they also sometimes cleared minefields by marching over them).
UGH!
John
Grisly sight if I ever saw one...AHLF wrote:(they also sometimes cleared minefields by marching over them).
Maybe by some Commissar like our friend D the Evil, who some day was bored and tried the experimentJavier Acuña wrote:Do you have any info on how/where it was calculated an by who?oleg wrote:the whole minefield thing... it was calculated that fast attacking infantry takes aproximately same number of casualties going through minefileds as engineers who tried to make a path in the minefield under the enemy fier.
I've read it either in Zhukov memories in some interview with him... I would assume that study was done by someone in his staff.Javier Acuña wrote:Do you have any info on how/where it was calculated an by who?oleg wrote:the whole minefield thing... it was calculated that fast attacking infantry takes aproximately same number of casualties going through minefileds as engineers who tried to make a path in the minefield under the enemy fier.
It was calculated by Soviet Military staff by 1943.Javier Acuña wrote:Do you have any info on how/where it was calculated an by who?oleg wrote:the whole minefield thing... it was calculated that fast attacking infantry takes aproximately same number of casualties going through minefileds as engineers who tried to make a path in the minefield under the enemy fier.
Wow that is interesting, I had never heard of that before, makes sense in a dark forbidding way. Somewhat takes chance out of the equation though.Xanthro wrote:It was calculated by Soviet Military staff by 1943.Javier Acuña wrote:Do you have any info on how/where it was calculated an by who?oleg wrote:the whole minefield thing... it was calculated that fast attacking infantry takes aproximately same number of casualties going through minefileds as engineers who tried to make a path in the minefield under the enemy fier.
The idea was that by attacking through the minefield as quickly as possible and eliminating the weak resistence the usually guards a minefield protected area, that fewer casulaties would occur that trying to clear the field under fire and allowing the Germans the opportunity to reinforce the defense.
In this case, it actually is the better option on the Eastern Front. The Germans lacked the manpower to defend in force and had to rely on mobility to stop attacks. Minefields provided trip wires and delays to allow this mobile force time to react. By moving quickly, the Soviets were often able to throw the defense into disarray and acheive objectives with reduced casualties.
Plus, demolition engineers take time and training, the squads that were thrown against the minefields didn't. These were often people recently released from prison.
I've read a number of Soviets accounts of how the minefields were cleared. They were actually appalled to learn that Americans wasted, in the Soviets minds, the lives of skilled engineers in trying to clear the minefield.
Xanthro
When the had them yes, the Soviets tended to lack specialized equipment in numbers.David C. Clarke wrote:But Xanthro, I thought that in Bagration, at least, the Soviets used mine-clearing tanks. Oh gee, now you've got me in this conversation.
Best Regards, David
It was pretty much the case in any German theater of operations. One will note that this was speciafically how Rommel fought in North Africa.Xanthro wrote:In this case, it actually is the better option on the Eastern Front. The Germans lacked the manpower to defend in force and had to rely on mobility to stop attacks. Minefields provided trip wires and delays to allow this mobile force time to react.